What a great topic. Yes, Hugh Laurie and all those mentioned are fantastic. The funny thing is... when you have an American doing and Irish or British accent, there is one thing I've always noticed. Even though they work with dialect coaches and speak impeccably, there is one very common giveaway... and that is that they think about the way they sound. In other words, when someone with a natural Irish accent speaks, their words flow. There is no thought to pronunciation b/c they are focusing on the msg they are trying to convey... but when an American speaks with the accent, they are aware of their own voice. It is less fluid and natural no matter how well they do.

I have heard the most difficult accent by far is the Bostonian accent and very few natives appreciate the attempts that are made, as they feel most actors fall short, even with a coach.

I'm from Alabama so my friends pick on me sometimes, and I'm really shy so I get tongue-tied alot, but they're always saying how cute they think it is, especially my northerner guy friends, so I just wanted your opinion...

In South Africa we have 11 native languages so its fare to say a large majority of people speak english as a second or third language.I.too speak Afrikaans as my first language and often crack a laugh at my fellow...

I come from Russia, but having lived in New Zealand for almost 10 years, I've lost a lot of my Russian accent. To a point, where people wouldn't mistake me for a foreigner lol. I have a slight accent, but only the very...

Matt Dillahunty, best known as presenter of 'The Atheist Experience', asked, in his presentation at this year's Texas Freethought Convention; (from memory) "why does the US media always drag atheist spokepersons...